Launch of the Plagiarism Reference Tariff in the UK

Posted: 16/06/2010

Press release prepared by Horizonworks Marketing for plagiarismadvice.org. Date of release 17 June 2010.

For the first time in the UK, a plagiarism reference tariff for the application of penalties for student plagiarism in Higher Education will be presented at the 4th International Plagiarism Conference, organised by plagiarismadvice.org, being held 21-23 June 2010 in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Appearing as part of a wider report that discusses the attitudes of academics working within UK higher education institutions in relation to plagiarism penalties, the tariff was designed using the results of two previous national research projects (the Academic Misconduct Benchmarking Research, AMBeR project) along with a new consultation of 67 individuals. It is hoped that the tariff will encourage greater transparency and consistency in the allocation of penalties for student plagiarism.

Several factors are incorporated in the tariff, including the previous history of the student, the amount of material plagiarised, the academic level of the student, and the value of the assignment, as well as whether the submission has been purchased from an essay mill / ghost-writing service, or whether there is evidence of a deliberate attempt to conceal the plagiarism.

Although the consultation exercise identified some variation in attitudes, the researchers felt there was enough agreement overall to produce the reference tariff.

Each factor was allocated a number of points, according to how important it was considered by the respondents. The previous history of the student was considered most important, followed by the amount of material plagiarised, and the academic level of the student. Appropriate penalties are then recommended for different point ranges, using further results from the consultation and from previous research. Whilst being necessarily prescriptive in order to promote a standardised response, the tariff includes some flexibility in the allocation of specific penalties to allow vital academic judgment to be exercised.

The tariff is a reference:

  • for those institutions that have a policy in place, usable as both a benchmark and audit tool
  • to aid the evolution of existing policies
  • to aid the design of future penalty tariffs
  • as an example of a research-led tariff.

Will Murray, Chief Executive Officer at plagiarismadvice.org, comments: “We are very pleased to see this tariff and associated report launched as the culmination of three years work looking at the consistency with which institutions apply penalties."

Gill Rowell (report co-author) adds: “The tariff offers institutions a practical framework for those seeking to review existing practices, and provides a national benchmark against which higher education institutions can compare their procedures.”

Click here to download the tariff.

The reference tariff will be presented at the 4th International Plagiarism Conference 2010 on the 21-23 June 2010  www.plagiarismadvice.org/conference

A published guide will be produced for institutions, similar to the student and parent guides plagiarismadvice.org wrote for Ofqual www.ofqual.gov.uk/for-students-and-parents

For further information on the plagiarism reference tariff visit www.plagiarismadvice.org

ENDS

For press/media enquiries or to organise an interview with the authors, please contact Samantha Davidson or Jane McParlin on 0191 211 1948.

About the tariff

It is the first attempt at constructing a tariff based on the views and policies of staff working throughout Higher Education in this area. There are several points to consider:

  • The tariff is a guidance document, not a set of regulations.
  • It is a framework to aid consistency in the application of penalties. It does not deal with the establishment of guilt, nor is it not a replacement for academic judgement.
  • It is based on the assumption that students have learnt the skills of referencing and understand the institutions policy with regards to plagiarism i.e. know the rules.
  • It is guidance towards the most common penalties based on current practice and research findings.
  • While the tariff was designed from the opinions of staff working within Higher Education, the principles may equally be applied to Further Education and Secondary Education where such policies are still being developed.
  • Legal issues are up to individual institution to address – it’s their responsibility.

Background and previous work

The final phase being launched at the conference, the reference tariff (known as AMBeR 3), draws on the policies and practices identified from AMBeR 1 and 2 and sets out a tariff, developed from a national consultation, for the application of penalties for student plagiarism in HE.

The work began in 2004, when the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, Baroness Deech, articulated widespread concerns about the level of inconsistency in the application of penalties for student plagiarism within Higher Education (HE).

In response to this, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded plagiarismadvice.org to conduct the Academic Misconduct Benchmarking Research (AMBeR) Project which then was continued by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in AMBeR 2.

These projects confirmed vast variation between different institutions in the penalties available for student plagiarism, the procedures involved in their recommendation, and in the actual penalties applied (AMBeR 1 and 2).

The first phase, AMBeR 1, identified vast variation, between different institutions, in the penalties available for student plagiarism. It was found that 80% of penalty tariffs were found to fall into one of three groups. These three groups were later shown to represent three distinct type of institution.

The second phase, AMBeR 2, identified variation, between different institutions, in the number of cases of student plagiarism recorded, and in the penalties applied, and again found differences between groups.

In several instances, degree-level penalties, including expulsion, were applied to students with no previous record of plagiarism.

About plagiarismadvice.org

plagiarismadvice.org have been providing resources,training,advice andguidance to the education sector since 2002 to help address growing concerns about plagiarism, whilst promoting appropriate use of electronic sources of information. plagiarismadvice.org work with a wide range of partners including The Higher Education Academy, JCQ, JISC, Ofqualand all UK unitary awarding bodies, along with schools, colleges and universities. For further information visit www.plagiarismadvice.org